University of Nottingham has confirmed a marking boycott is going ahead

The University and College Union has confirmed that the University of Nottingham will be going ahead with the planned marking boycott. The boycott is set to begin on Monday 23rd May.

Out of the original 44 universities who were initially participating in the planned marking boycott, 20 have since pulled out.

A press release from the UCU details that “the boycott means university staff will stop marking work, returning marks and setting up or sitting exams and coursework. The graduations of well over 100,000 students are set to be disrupted.”

University of Nottingham has assured that examinations and assessments will take place as currently planned, with papers having been prepared well in advance of the exam period. UoN has also said that it is confident that “appropriate decisions” will be made regarding students’ graduation.

A spokesperson for the university said: “We expect examinations and assessments to proceed as currently planned because papers are prepared well in advance and exams are normally invigilated by non-striking staff.

“Some staff may  take part in a marking boycott as part of action short of a strike. While many of our students will be unaffected by this action, some may be, and  we understand that they might be concerned about how this could affect their marks, progression to their next year of study, or graduation.

“Maintaining the integrity of our awards and supporting students to achieve the outcome they have worked for continue to be our absolute priorities. The University has existing regulations which mean that, despite the circumstances, we are not expecting unreasonable delays to occur, and we are confident that appropriate decisions will be made regarding students’ progression or graduation.

“The University has longstanding regulations which will enable students to progress as planned to the next level of their studies, or complete and graduate in the summer as planned.

“We will continue to address the issues at the heart of the industrial action. We are working hard to close our pay gaps, replace casual contracts and are spending an additional £6 million this year to alleviate workload pressures and improve working conditions.”

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